1. Field of the Invention
In the most general sense, the present invention relates to a proppant dust catcher for a proppant storage device. The current invention is particularly useful at a hydraulic fracturing worksite. Applicants' invention can reduce the amount of proppant dust escaping from the proppant storage device.
2. Description of the Previous Art
Any discussion of references cited in this Description of the Previous Art merely summarizes the disclosures of the cited references and Applicants make no admission that any cited reference or portion thereof is relevant prior art. Applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy, relevancy and veracity of the cited references.
1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,543-Medemblik, et al. enables a material transfer apparatus. Columns 3 and 4 of Medemblik, in part, read, “The operation of the conveyor 10 will initially be described generally with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, FIG. 2 showing a schematic illustrating of the operation of the conveyor 10. A pneumatic device, in the form of a Rootes or positive displacement type blower 16, acts as a vacuum source to draw air into the conveyor 10 through an inlet conduit 18. An operator locates the open end or nozzle (not shown) of the inlet conduit 18 in, for example, a supply of grain and adjusts an air valve (not shown) such that the grain is entrained in a first fluid stream and drawn into the conduit 18. In FIG. 2, the flow of grain is illustrated by the solid arrows 20, while the air flow is represented as the broken arrows 22, the suffixes a and b being used to indicate whether the air and grain is in an area of negative or positive pressure, respectively. The air 22a and entrained grain 20a pass through the conduit 18 into a separation chamber, in the form of a cyclone separator 24. The grain 20a falls to the bottom of the separator 24 where it gathers and is then transported from the separator 24 through a valve means, in the form of an air sealed, rotary valve 26, into an outlet conduit 28. The air 22a leaves the separator 24 through an upper outlet 30 and passes through a conduit 32 leading to the downstream side of the blower 16. The air 22a is drawn through the blower and pushed, through a muffler 34, to a lower portion of the rotary valve 26. The pressurized air stream 22b then pushes the grain 20b from the lower part of the valve 26, the grain 20b becoming entrained in the air stream 22b and carried through the outlet conduit 28, including a retractable boom section, to an elevated material outlet 36 (FIG. 1), normally positioned above an open transport trailor or the like. In this example, the outlet is provided with a cyclone separator, such that the grain leaves the outlet 36 through a downwardly directed opening 37 while the air and particulate matter entrained in the air leaves the outlet through an upwardly directed opening 39.
Among other things, Medemblik does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,374-Harms, et al. enables a method and apparatus for continuously mixing well treatment fluids. Column 6 of Harms, in part, reads, “The polymer is introduced into the system by pouring it in bulk form into a hopper portion 14 of a feeder 16. Feeder 16 is preferably of a type which discharges an accurately metered quantity of polymer over time. The feeder illustrated is a metering feeder, such as an Acrison feeder. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to this particular Acrison feeder. The important feature is that a device be used which provides an accurately metered quantity of polymer discharged therefrom. The Acrison feeder has a large conditioning auger or agitator 18 adjacent to the bottom of hopper 14. Conditioning auger 18 of this prior art feeder “conditions” or stirs the polymer and breaks up any clumps of polymer that might be stuck together. After being stirred by conditioning auger 18, the polymer falls through an opening 20 into a feed chamber 22. A smaller metering auger 23 rotates within chamber 22, and the polymer is discharged from feeder 16 through an outlet 24. In the Acrison feeder, conditioning auger 18 and metering auger 23 rotate at dissimilar speeds. A control box 26 drives conditioning auger 18 and metering auger 23. A speed transducer 28 may be engaged with control box 26.”
Among other things, Harms does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
3) U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,243-Bertellotti, et al. enables a fluidized bed powder handling and coating apparatus and methods. The Bertellotti Summary of the Invention, in part, reads, “The present invention provides powder handling and coating apparatus and methods achieving advantages to address the problems mentioned above as well as other powder coating and handling problems. For example, the invention can provide an automated powder coating system which is relatively compact as compared to prior systems. Powder may be conveniently added to supply a closed loop powder handling system of the invention. The system can also automatically mix reclaimed powder and new or so-called virgin powder prior to conveying the mixture into coating structure associated with the system. Also the system eliminates the need for the primary powder filters typically contained in the powder collection loop and therefore eliminates the change in collection vacuum associated with such filters. Also, powder color and/or powder type may be more easily changed due to the elimination of filters in the powder collection loop and the more compact system configuration.”
Among other things, Bertellotti does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
4) U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,535-Stegemoeller enables an apparatus and method for accurately metering and conveying dry powder or granular materials to a blender in a substantially closed system. Column 2 of Stegemoeller, in part, reads, “The details of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Turning to FIG. 1, an apparatus for accurately metering and conveying a dry powder or granular material 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown generally by reference numeral 10. The apparatus 10 comprises a bulk material tank 12, which is generally cylindrical or rectangular in shape in its upper portion and generally funnel shaped in its lower portion. The bulk material tank 12 is generally a closed container. It has a sealable opening (not shown) for injecting dry powder or granular material into the tank and an outlet for discharging the dry powder or granular material, which is described in more detail below. The bulk material tank 12 is designed to be mobile, i.e., to be transportable to a work site, such as an oil and gas well, for example.”
Among other things, Stegemoeller does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
5) U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,328-Phillippi, et al. enables a method and apparatus for hydrating a gel for use in a subterranean well. Column 7 of Phillippi, in part, reads, “FIGS. 3A and B are detail views of a typical centrifugal pump used as mixer 250 with a base fluid inlet 230, leading to inner chamber 220. The impeller 215 has a hub 260 about which a plurality of impeller blades 218 rotate thereby directing fluid flow. Gel powder 245 is introduced into the inner chamber 220 through powder inlet 242. The gel may be a dry powder or a powder which has been prewetted. Although rotation of the impeller creates a mild suction at the powder inlet 242, the powder is fed into the mixer 250 primarily by gravity. The impeller 215 mixes the gel powder 245 and base fluid 235 to form a gel fluid mix 265 or hydrated gel without the formation of unwanted gel balls or clamps. In use, the centrifugal pump 250 establishes a fluid flow through base fluid inlet 230 into the impeller 215 and then out through gel fluid mix outlet 270.
In FIG. 3B, another mixer embodiment is presented. In FIG. 3A, the base fluid inlet 230 housed at least partially by and extends through the hydrated gel outlet 270. In FIG. 3B, the base fluid inlet 230 attaches to the mixer 250 at a location separate from the point of attachment of the hydrated gel outlet 270 to the mixer 250, allowing a larger through-put of base fluid and mixture. FIGS. 3A and B illustrate two possible arrangements for the inlet 230 and outlet 270, but other configurations may be used. The mixer, inlet and outlet size may be chosen to suit the needs of a particular job.”
Among other things, Phillippi does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
6) U.S. Pat. No. 7,703,518-Phillippi, et al. enables a dust control system for transferring dry material used in subterranean wells. Columns 4 and 5 of Phillippi, in part, read, “FIGS. 2 and 3 provide two perspective views of an embodiment wherein the cyclone separator 28 and collection container 34 are physically positioned within the supply tank 12. In these figures, parts corresponding to parts shown in FIG. 1 are identified by the same reference numbers. A plate 12′ forms a part of the top of the tank 12. The plate 12′ also forms the top of the separator 28. The clean air vent 30 extends through the plate 12′. The plate 12′ and other portions of cyclone separator 28 may be made of steel. The upper portion of the separator 28 may have a diameter at inlet 26 of about twelve inches and a diameter at solids outlet 32 of about four inches. The collection container 34 may be connected directly to the outlet 32. The lower end of collection container 34 is closed by a butterfly valve 44, which remains closed during transfer of materials into the supply tank 12. A manual crank system 46 is provided for opening the valve 44 from the outside of the tank 12.
In this embodiment, the flow path 38 between collection container 34 and the inlet of pump 36 includes a conduit extending from an outlet 35 in the lower portion of collection container 34 to a fitting 39 on the top of plate 12′ and therefore outside tank 12. A second fitting 41 on the top of plate 12′ is connected to a short pipe nipple 50 passing through the plate 12′ to flow the materials from pump 36 back into the tank 12. The fitting 39 is adapted for connection to the suction inlet of pump 36 and the fitting 41 is adapted for connection to the outlet of pump 36. The pump 36 may therefore be located outside tank 12.
In this embodiment, an inlet 52 is provided in the lower end of collection container 34 about opposite the outlet 35. The inlet 52 is connected by a conduit 54 to a fitting 56 on the upper surface of plate 12′. The fitting 56 is adapted for connection to a source of pressurized air. This air inlet system provides a means for fluidizing any powder which might plug the outlet 35 and interfere with operation of the pump 36.
In operation, the elements shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are assembled and inserted into an appropriately shaped opening in the top of supply tank 12. The plate 12′ is attached to tank 12 by appropriate fasteners and gasket material to prevent any powder from being vented around the plate 12′. Before the mixer 16 of FIG. 1 can be operated, an appropriate amount of dry treating material must be transferred into the supply tank 12 to provide accurate metering of the material into the mixer 16. As the dry treating material is transferred into the supply tank 12, the air used for the pneumatic conveyance flows into the inlet 26 of the cyclone separator 28. As the air spins in the separator 28, the solids are separated and fall through outlet 32 into the collection container 34. Clean air is vented from outlet 30.”
Among other things, Phillippi does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
7) U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,564-Phillippi, et al. enables a portable well treating fluid mixing system and method. U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,564-Phillippi, et al. includes disclosure similar to U.S. Pat. No. 7,703,518-Phillippi, et al. Thus, among other things, U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,564 does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
8) US Pub. Patent Application 20110217129-Fisher, et al. discloses pneumatic particulate material fill systems and methods. Paragraphs 31-34 of Fisher read, “Accordingly, the particulate material may be in a powder or granular state when it is fed into the metering feeder 150, and the hopper 145 may be consistently kept full so that a constant volume of material may be drawn by the metering feeder 150. Because the interior environment of the tank 135 is not pressurized, the metering rates of the metering feeder 150 are not affected by an internal pressure of the tank 135. Consequently, the system 100 may be capable of delivering the particulate material out of the tank 135 at a substantially uniform density and rate.
The conveyor 125 may be designed and operated to convey the particulate material to the hopper 145 at a bulk rate that exceeds the maximum rate at which the metering feeder 150 may be capable of transporting the material out of the tank 135. Because the hopper 150 is located above the fill line 155 of the particulate material in the tank, the overflow of the material being delivered to the hopper 150 by the conveyor 125 may spill back into the tank 135. Therefore, the hopper 150 may continuously overfill and spill over during operation of the system. The excess particulate material may then be recycled back to the conveying system while the hopper 150 remains at a consistent material level and density.
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional diagram of a particulate material fill and feeder system 200 with a multi-stage cyclone separator feature, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the system 100, the system 200 may include a cyclone separator 205 having an inlet 210, a first outlet 215 and a second outlet 220, and may be coupled to a conveyor 225. The cyclone separator 205 may receive a pneumatically conveyed stream of particulate material via inlet 210 and may separate solids from the air. Separated solids may drop toward the bottom of separator 205, through the second outlet 220 and toward an inlet 230A of a conveyor 225. An air stream may be vented through the top of the separator 205 via the first outlet 215. The air stream may or may not be clean at the point of discharge through the first outlet 215. For example, the air stream may yet be dust-laden to an undesirable extent, even though a significant amount of solids may have been separated from the air. To further separate solids from the air stream, the air stream may be routed from the first outlet 215 to a secondary cyclone separator 235, which may be coupled to the cyclone separator 205 via connection 240.
The secondary cyclone separator 235 may receive the air stream via an inlet 245 and further separate solids from the air stream. The solids may be directed toward a second outlet 250 near the bottom of the separator 235. The separator 235 may be coupled to the conveyor 225 so that the separated solids may be transferred to the conveyor inlet 230B. The remaining air stream may be vented from the secondary separator 235 via a first outlet 255. Accordingly, a two-stage separator configuration may provide for an additional level of solid separation, thereby capturing more solids and venting cleaner air.”
Among other things, Fisher does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.
9) US Pub. Patent Application 20130186510-Stutzman, et al. discloses a method of reducing silicosis caused by inhalation of silica-containing proppant, such as silica sand and resin-coated sand, and apparatus therefor. Paragraph 56 of Stutzman reads, “FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional end view of a portion of the body of a proppant storage device 1 according to at least one embodiment of the application. While the storage device 1 is being filled with proppant, the doors 3, which are shown in FIG. 6 as being closed, may be opened to allow air to vent through outlets 4 and to allow workers to monitor the fill level of proppant in the storage device 1. The exiting air and the feeding of the proppant disturb the proppant, causing the formation of dust clouds which exit via the outlets 4, regardless of whether the doors 3 are closed or opened. To minimize or prevent the spread or exit of these dust clouds, a vacuum suction system may be employed. In operation, a vacuum dust collection machine is connected via an air duct system to collect the dust. In FIG. 6, intake openings 5 are formed in the sides of the outlets 4. A junction duct 15 is located around the intake opening 5 and connects to a side air duct 7. The flow of air through the side air duct 7 can be controlled by a valve 13. The side air ducts 7 lead to a central air duct 9. The central air duct 9 ultimately leads to an exhaust duct 11, which is operatively connected to a dust collector (not shown). The flow of air therefore proceeds as follows: air is drawn in through the outlets 4, then through the intake openings 5, then through the side air ducts 7, then through the central air duct 9, and finally through the exhaust duct 11. The side air ducts 7, the central air duct 9, and the exhaust duct 11 may be located within the frame or body of the storage device 1.”
Among other things, Stuzman does not disclose, teach or suggest a proppant storage device with one or more conduits positioned within the internal storage volume of the proppant storage device, where the conduits are connected to one or more vents to an environment external to the proppant storage device and have holes allowing air flow between the internal storage volume and the vents such that when pneumatic energy is supplied to the internal storage volume, the pressure forces air through the holes and one or more filters in proximity with the holes for catching proppant dust prior to entry into the holes.